The Zombies that Ate Pittsburg: The films of George A. Romero - Paul R. Gagne (still the most comprehensive study of Romero's work - although it only goes up to Day of The Dead). Link
Wes Craven's Last House on the Left- David Szulkin (fascinating behind the scenes look at Craven's notorious film covering everything from the origins of its conception to its cultural impact) Link
English Gothic - Jonathan Rigby (excellent overview of the British horror film - including obscure wonders like Todd Slaughter) Link
Making Mischief: The cult films of Pete Walker - Steve Chibnall (Chibnall is the Walker expert - highly recommended) Link
Dark Carnival - David J Skal & Elias Savada (the only Tod Browning biography to have been written so far, to my knowledge, and brilliantly researched as you would expect from David Skal) Link
Shocking Representation - Adam Lowenstein (a fascinating critical study of the horror genre as allegory of historical trauma) Link
The cinema of David Cronenberg - Ernest Mathijs (comprehensive critical study of Cronenberg's career from the early days of experimental shorts to Eastern Promises. Mathijs examines the production context of Cronenberg's films, their cultural context within Canadian cinema and their critical reception. Easily the best book on Cronenberg. Link
The cinema of George A. Romero - Tony Williams (Williams is the Romero expert - this is indespensible for Romero scholars) Link
George A. Romero Interviews - Tony Williams (a new book of interviews with Romero spanning his entire career - read my review here) Link
The Remarkable Michael Reeves - John B Murray (Excellent biography of the tragic British director) Link
Tod Browning (Hollywood Professional) - Stuart Rosenthal (an early critical study of Browning but still one of the best) Link
What the Censor Saw - John Trevelyan (fascinating memoir from the 1960s censor) Link
Horror in the Cinema - Ivan Butler (early survey of the genre but still very good - the section on Polanski's Repulsion is excellent) Link
Horror Movies - Carlos Clarens (another classic early survey) Link
Michael Reeves - Benjamin Halligan (excellent companion-piece to John Murray's biography. This one also offers an insightful critical appraisal of Reeves's films) Link
The Exorcist - Mark Kermode (Kermode is the expert on The Exorcist. What more can I say?) Link
Horror Films - James Marriot (very good and accessible survey of the genre from Virgin books) Link
James Whale - James Curtis (comprehensive and well-researched biography of the great British director) Link
Nightmare Movies - Kim Newman (newly revised and expanded - still one of the best and most accessible surveys) Link
Book of The Dead - Jamie Russell (the last word on zombie films from the brilliant FAB press) link
Horror Films of the 1970s/80s/90 (three volumes) - John Kenneth Muir (meticulously researched database including some of the more obscure releases from each decade) link
Beasts in the Cellar - John Hamilton (fascinating and detailed study of Tony Tenser's career as British horror producer in the 1960s and 1970s - another FAB press triumph) Link
Wounds of Nations - Linnie Blake (important study of horror films in relation to historical trauma and national identity. A dense, sometimes difficult read but a rewarding one) Link
Men, Women and Chainsaws - Carol J Clover (classic text on representation of gender in the horror film) Link
Dark Dreams - Charles Derry (another classic text - this one examines horror films by themic 'type') Link
Danse Macabre - Stephen King (proof of King's deep knowledge and understanding of the genre - entertaining too) Link
Night of The Living Dead Film-book - John Russo (Detailed behind the scenes account by the film's co-writer) Link
Poverty Row Horrors - Tom Weaver (excellent and unique look at horror films made by the poverty row studios - PRC, Republic, Monogram - in the 1940s) Link
Deformed Destructive Beings - George Ochoa (New book on the horror film by fellow blogger, George Ochoa) Link
Dario Argento - James Gracy (New book on Argento by fellow blogger and Fangoria writer James Gracy) Link
4 comments:
Many thanks for this list Jon, quite a few there I must add to my collection. I must definitely pick up the Trevelyn memoir, after catching BBC4's BBFC documentry over the weekend. Great post - I'm gonna add a link to here from my book post.
Thanks, Wes. I missed that BBC4 doc - must catch it on iplayer. Yes, I would definitely recommend the Trevelyan book. Shame Stephen Murphy didn't write one (did he?) for the 70s - Staw Dogs, Clockwork Orange, The Devils etc - that would be a good read.
Appreciate the inclusion of DEFORMED AND DESTRUCTIVE BEINGS in such a fine list. Thanks--George Ochoa
You're welcome, George. It's an interesting and original book.
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